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Upstat vs Zenduty

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Executive Snapshot

Zenduty routes alerts. Upstat runs the entire incident operation.

Zenduty excels at getting alerts to the right people, but teams still need external monitoring, status pages, and collaboration tools to complete the incident response workflow. Upstat bundles everything—monitoring, response, automations, status pages—for $29–$49 per user.

Beyond alert routing

Upstat replaces Zenduty plus your monitoring service, status page tool, and runbook platform—all included at $29–$49/user.

Capability comparison

Platform focus

Upstat

Full incident operations platform with monitoring, response, automations, runbooks, and status pages.

Zenduty

Alert routing and on-call management focused; relies on external monitoring and status tools.

Monitoring

Upstat

Native uptime, API, and heartbeat monitoring integrated with incident workflows.

Zenduty

No built-in monitoring—depends on 100+ external integrations for alert detection.

Incident Response

Upstat

Kanban/list views, rich timelines, role assignments, and automations keep responders aligned.

Zenduty

Alert queues and timelines; coordination often moves to external docs and chat.

Automations & Runbooks

Upstat

No-code workflows and runbooks embedded in the incident workspace.

Zenduty

Event orchestration and automation rules exist, but runbooks require external tooling.

Entity Intelligence

Upstat

Operational dashboards show ownership, dependencies, impact, and history for every service.

Zenduty

Basic service context for routing; lacks live dashboards and dependency mapping.

Status Communication

Upstat

Customer and internal status pages update directly from incidents and monitors.

Zenduty

No native status pages—requires additional tools for customer communication.

Pricing Model

Upstat

Predictable $29/$49 per-user with all modules included.

Zenduty

Starts at $5/user for alert routing; full functionality requires pairing with monitoring, status, and collaboration tools.

Why teams outgrow Zenduty

Alert routing is only step one

Zenduty delivers alerts efficiently, but responders still jump to external monitoring dashboards, shared docs, and chat tools to investigate and coordinate. Context-switching adds 10-15 minutes to every major incident.

Tool costs multiply quickly

Zenduty starts at $5/user, but teams also pay for monitoring services, status page subscriptions, and runbook platforms. Upstat consolidates these tools into one predictable price with no hidden add-ons.

Manual status updates slow communication

Zenduty lacks native status pages, forcing teams to manually update external tools during incidents. Upstat status pages sync automatically with monitors and incidents, keeping customers informed without manual intervention.

Operational context lives elsewhere

Zenduty provides basic service context for routing, but operational intelligence—dependency maps, ownership dashboards, impact analysis—requires building custom solutions or accepting incomplete visibility.

Learn more about Why teams outgrow Zenduty

Migrate from Zenduty without disruption

Teams typically complete the migration in 1-2 weeks while maintaining on-call coverage. Use this sequence to consolidate tools and reduce operational complexity.

  • 1
    Document current Zenduty alert routing rules, on-call schedules, and integrations.
  • 2
    Configure matching services in Upstat and set up native monitors to replace external detection.
  • 3
    Recreate escalation policies and on-call rotations, then add automation workflows.
  • 4
    Run parallel tests to validate alerting, escalations, and status page updates.
  • 5
    Cut over production traffic and decommission external monitoring and status tools.

Migration checklist

Verify service coverage, escalation parity, automation workflows, and status page configuration before cutover.

Learn more about Migrate from Zenduty without disruption

Calculate the total cost of ownership

A 20-person incident team using Zenduty typically spends $1.2k annually on alert routing, plus $3k–$6k for monitoring tools, $2k–$4k for status pages, and additional costs for runbook platforms. That is $6k–$11k+ across multiple subscriptions. Upstat's Teams plan runs $6.96k annually with everything included.

The scenario below shows how tool consolidation and faster incident resolution create significant value beyond subscription savings.

Cost of downtime scenario

Fragmented tools slow response—Upstat helps teams resolve faster.

Incident response is not just tooling costs. Every minute a critical service is down touches revenue, customer trust, and team morale. The scenario below models a conservative mid-market SaaS company with a 20-person on-call rotation.

Baseline: 3 customer-facing incidents per quarter (12 annually), averaging 45 minutes of impact. We use $8,000 per hour as a mid-market revenue-at-risk benchmark.

Zenduty stack: Alert routing via Zenduty, monitoring from external providers, manual status updates, and runbooks in shared docs. Typical annual cost: ~$8k in combined subscriptions, plus ~$72k in lost revenue from nine hours of downtime.

Upstat outcome: Integrated monitoring, automations, and unified workspace reduce resolution time by 35%—a conservative take on workflow improvements from tool consolidation. Downtime drops to 5.85 hours, protecting ~$25k in revenue and eliminating ~$1k in bolt-on subscriptions.

Tool costs

$8,000 → $7,000

Zenduty + monitoring + status pages vs. Upstat all-in-one platform.

Tool savings: $1,000/year

Downtime impact

$72,000 → $47,000

35% faster MTTR from unified monitoring and incident workflows.

Revenue protected: $25,000/year

Total annual savings

$26,000

Tool consolidation ($1,000) + faster incident resolution ($25,000).

* Estimates based on a 20-seat incident rotation, $8k/hour revenue at risk, and a 35% MTTR improvement from unified workflows. Adjust the numbers to match your business before sharing with finance.

Frequently asked questions

Teams evaluating Zenduty alternatives want to understand the platform differences and total cost of ownership. Here are the questions we hear most often.

How does Upstat pricing compare to Zenduty?

Upstat charges $29 (Teams) or $49 (Business) per user with all features included—monitoring, incidents, automations, runbooks, and status pages. Zenduty starts at $5/user for alert routing, but full functionality requires pairing with external monitoring tools, status page services, and collaboration platforms. When you add these costs, Upstat often provides better value with a complete platform.

What does Upstat provide that Zenduty does not?

Upstat includes native monitoring (uptime, API, heartbeat checks), customer-facing status pages, entity-based operational dashboards, and integrated runbooks. Zenduty focuses on alert routing and on-call scheduling, requiring external tools for monitoring and status communication. Upstat is a complete incident operations platform; Zenduty is an alert routing layer.

Can we keep Zenduty for alerting and use Upstat for other features?

While possible, this creates tool sprawl. Upstat handles the full workflow from monitoring to resolution in one platform. Teams typically migrate completely to eliminate redundant subscriptions and reduce context-switching during incidents.

How long does it take to migrate from Zenduty to Upstat?

Teams can complete the migration in 1-2 weeks. The process involves documenting your current alert routing rules and on-call schedules, recreating services in Upstat, configuring native monitors to replace external integrations, testing escalation policies, and cutting over. Upstat provides migration assistance to ensure smooth transitions.

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